


Sleepless Nights

by Kawaii_Kitty360



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, It's late, M/M, here this is, idk - Freeform, might turn this into something later, much like dipper i am also very exhausted, not really relationship-y, redy 2 kms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-27
Updated: 2016-11-27
Packaged: 2018-09-02 13:35:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8669671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kawaii_Kitty360/pseuds/Kawaii_Kitty360
Summary: College boy Mason "Dipper" Pines rarely sleeps, but when he finally does, he has a dream about a yellow triangle who makes an offer he isn't sure he can refuse.





	

Dipper rubbed his eyes for the thousandth time that night, the bright blue light of his laptop penetrating his retinas and going straight to attack his brain. If it were up to him, he'd be in bed right now, eyes shut and comfortably dreaming about the dense woods of his summer home, Gravity Falls. 

Yeah, right.

If it were up to him, he would still be in his computer chair, typing away at notes and doodling on his open notebook when his pen wasn't in his mouth. It was honestly the only way he could survive the brutal college days of boring lectures and stressful nights of homework; especially after less than an hour of sleeping, if that. Only difference between his fantasy and reality is that he wouldn't be tired, he'd have a part-time job, and good grades due to not having to sleep at all. 

But life wasn't a fantasy, and the corner of his laptop blared a white streak that read 3:46 A.M. Classes started in roughly five hours, he needed less than an hour to eat, shower, and get dressed, and probably half an hour to get to his next class. Not like he had to do calculations; his paper wasn't even halfway done, but his eyelids were fighting him to stay awake. He rubbed his eyes again and rolled out his shoulders, feeling --and hearing-- them pop. He sighed as he relaxed, pushing his chair back and stretching his legs, his hipbone popping next. Dipper let out an audible groan as he got to his feet, stretching the rest of his body and jerking his head suddenly to the side, the pop making his ears ring. He intertwined his own fingers, twisting his wrist around and pushing his hands away from him, stretching his arms as he took another step towards his apartment room door. If he was aiming to stay up any later, he needed coffee. Scooping his phone off the counter, he scanned his notifications before shoving the phone in his pocket, grabbing his key, and heading out.

~

Three Starbucks Frappuccinos, a whole completed essay, and a fresh heap of regret, Dipper was finally ready to say goodnight, but found he couldn't. Free time ~~and coffee~~ meant new energy, and new energy meant no chances of sleeping. No sleep meant less concentration in classes, and less concentration in classes meant a higher chance of failure on future tests due to inadequate notes and shit focus. 

To sum up: no sleep = bad time. Dipper wasn't one for bad times. Belowstory fucked him well enough in terms of those. 

Dipper turned on his phone screen, wincing at the bright light before sighing and rolling over, resting the back of his wrist on his forehead as he stared at the ceiling above. 5:19. Three hours left for sleeping. He doubted he'd get any, but it was worth a shot. 

...

...

...

" _UGH!_ " 

The springs in his bed squealed as he flipped himself over, snuggling into the ultra-fluffy blankets his sister sewed for him last Christmas. He hooked his arm under his pillow, furrowing his brows at the darkness across from him, illuminated through his curtains. His eyes burned, but his mind was racing with incoherent thoughts that made him want to strangle his past self for thinking it was a good idea for buying and drinking three coffees when he could've saved one for the morning when he _needed_ it. He thought it'd take a whole lot longer to finish his essay when all it took was a walk down to the store and maybe one Frap in order to be awake enough to concentrate on his paper. But oh well! Can't change the past. It literally took him about an hour to finish researching, taking notes, and writing his whole essay when he assumed it would take at least two. His body was really disagreeing with him, but he still closed his eyes, hoping to snag at least a few moments of rest before he had to get up and start his day. Sure, he'd been trying for nearly an hour, but Dipper wasn't one for giving up. 

The time passed.

An hour and five minutes.

An hour and a half.

An hour and 45 minutes.

Two hours. 6:07. 

The whole time, Dipper had his eyes closed, though he tossed and turned. His mind was too awake for his body; he was nearly offended with himself for trying to go to sleep with all this energy. It'd be a waste, especially since he rarely had energy at all anymore, as most of it was poured into his studies and weekend part-time job.

Of course he knew it wasn't just because of the coffee that he was so awake.

Every night he would get like this. His body would reject sleep to the point of pure exhaustion, but any napping he tried to get in class would be instantly disrupted by either a classmate waking him up so the teacher didn't, or the teacher smacking him with a ruler or, if he was lucky, a rolled up paperback book. Or a notebook. Sometimes a textbook. 

Whatever it was, it always worked. Dipper's restlessness was, as the school counselor said, caused by _and_ was what caused his anxiety to peak over the edge and, though Dipper never explained why he was always nervous, anxious, or tried not to sleep, but the counselor didn't really care either way. He just knew it was happening, and knew it was his job to try and help Dipper out of it. Dipper knew he would never be successful, but humored the poor man (and Dipper's parents) anyway.

Once again, Dipper sighed, but didn't bother looking at his phone as he rolled over. He willed himself to sleep, even if for a few minutes, but as the minutes ticked on, he wondered if it was even worth it to go at all. He'd get more done at home than in class anyway.

Making a mental note to text somebody next time he woke up, Dipper finally felt himself slipping out of consciousness and into the clutches of his own mind.

~

Pine trees. Just like Gravity Falls. He missed that place. He needed to visit again. The trees weren't as vibrant as they usually were, but Dipper paid that no mind as he scanned the landscape. Everything seemed to have a gray tint to it. It was weird, but, once again, Dipper ignored it and instead focused on the weird space in front of him. It almost looked like it was moving, like heatwaves even though the air was neither hot nor cold. He reached out, hesitantly, towards the spot in front of him, feeling a slight resistance but pushing his hand farther into it.

An explosion.

Dipper shielded his face as the air erupted in his face, blasting him with hot air and bright light. The branches around him caught on fire and the grass beneath him burned, and he took a step back as he looked at the now black spot. A single eye, glowing slightly, opened slowly, looking first at the sky before laughing, the black behind it disappearing and instead leaving a black triangular shape. Dipper felt his skin crawl as color began to bleed into the shape, staining it yellow. The eye scanned the area before landing on Dipper, causing him to, once again, step back.

"Wow, Pinetree! It's been so long!" The shape held out two long black arms, surprise clearly on his non-face. 

"Bill." Dipper's tone was full of disgust and frustration at the sight of the past enemy.

"So spiteful!" Bill sighed as he flew around Dipper's body, scanning him. "You've grown a lot, Pinetree, but you're still so desperate."

"You don't know anything about me, Bill; it's been a long time since we've last spoke." Dipper tried to maintain a professional tone, but knew Bill saw through him. 

"Yes, it has, but I haven't stopped watching over you, kid!" Bill waved his hand and one of Dipper's notebooks appeared. "How's college treatin' ya? No, don't answer that. A's and B's, huh? You sure are a lot like old Fordsy, ain'tcha?" 

Dipper looked away from the demon in front of him at the mention of his great uncle, and Bill laughed. 

"Anyway, I didn't come here just to antagonize you. I've come with an offer!"

"You mean a deal."

"Of course I do, Pinetree! You know me so well," Bill smacked out his words dramatically, fluttering his eyelashes at the adolescence below him. "Before you outright deny me, let me tell you what my offer is. I know how much you don't like sleep, and how sleep is ruining your life. I can make it so you never have to sleep again! Anytime you feel tired, just let me know, and with a snap of my fingers"--the demon demonstrated, and the notebook disappeared--"I can make you wide awake! You never have to sleep again!"

"And what do you gain, huh?" Dipper clutched his hoodie closer, as if that'd protect him from Bill. "Full control over my body at any given moment?"

Bill tapped his finger under his eye as he looked at the trees around him. "Y'know kid, I didn't really think about that. When I come up with something, I'll let you know. Until then, I just help you. Deal?"

The hand outstretched to him was menacing: slim and black but coated in blue flames that seemed to dance up his arm. Dipper stared at it for a few seconds, pondering. Bill had tricked him in the past; why couldn't he now? 

He really needed to get his life in check.

Dipper expected the fire to be hot to the touch, but it was barely even lukewarm as his fingers wrapped around Bill's small hand, giving it a few shakes. He could feel regret pooling in his stomach as Bill grinned with his non-existent mouth. "Deal."

**Author's Note:**

> So, uh... it's late, I'm not sure if I'm actually going to take this anywhere, but it's here now. I might come back and edit it later so it's longer, flows a bit better, and rambles less. Grand.


End file.
